But Google Inc. (GOOG) appears eager to push the boundaries of its PC operating system experiment, debuting its first in-house designed Chromebook. Dubbed the "Pixel", the laptop/Chromebook/ultrathin packs an Intel Corp. (INTC) Core i5 processor and Intel HD 4000 graphics. 4GB of DDR3 memory is also onboard.

But Google's Pixel diverges with the Retina MacBook Pro in other ways. There's a third microphone included, designed to cancel unwanted noise from the keyboard when making video calls. And Google has gone to great lengths to optimized the touchpad's "feel" and the latching mechanism.

While the laptops are similar in maximum thickness (the Google laptop is a hair thicker), they look dramatically different.

A Wi-Fi model of the Pixel ships next week. It packs 32 GB of NAND flash, along with a 1 TB Google Drive subscription (3-year) and an SD slot for expansion. The price is $1,299 USD. In April Google will drop an LTE version, which packs 64 GB of NAND and the same SD/Google Drive perks. That version will fetch $1,449 USD.

Google's app ecosystem is pretty week, but perhaps its shiny new hardware will attract new developer interest. Google showed off a slick touch-friendly Google+ app with the launch materials.

Worse than all of that, though, is the fact that this device makes NO SENSE competing with the Macbook Pro. I'm not sure Google is really posturing itself like this or if the article author is just positioning these products against each other but its laughable.

The Macbook Pro is a beast in its category whereas the Chromebook struggles to even find a purpose. Google's biggest fans don't even get its purpose at the moment.

We dont' need MORE people in the industry just picking a company or brand and taking non-sensical positions on how their brand of choice is superior to all others. We need more people evaluating product-by-product without reflexively become venemous at the notion another brand or product is superior that iteration.